HEALTH & FITNESS ARTICLES

Goals and Fitness

As a trainer, I dispense advice in order to help clients achieve their dreams and goals. One thing I notice that is a shame is when people immediately discount what I say because they ‘just don’t like’ x. It might be a food I recommend they eat or a type of exercise I recommend they perform.

The first question I have is, ‘Why do you feel entitled to have to like absolutely everything?’ Have you ever heard of sacrifice, of working hard or enduring unpleasant things for the sake of achieving a goal? Secondly, how bad can it be to do something you don’t like? Is it the end-all of tortures to eat a food you are not particularly fond of if it will help you achieve your goals? Just how important are your goals to you, anyway?

If your trainer recommends walking or jogging rather than using the elliptical and you say, “I just don’t like walking or jogging,” honestly, what you are saying is that you don’t really want to achieve the goals you claimed. You wanted to achieve them, all right—but only IF you found it easy and comfortable to do so. Let me explain something—if it were easy or comfortable, wouldn’t you have achieved it already? If you legitimately injured or limited physically, of course, that’s another story, but it might mean you need to change your goals.

In this society we all seem to feel ‘entitled’ to have a pleasant experience all the time. Well, what has that ‘pleasant experience’ gotten you? You are probably living in a body you don’t like and have many things you wish you could change about yourself. Thankfully you have the ability to make changes for the better. Don’t waste that chance!

Oftentimes it just requires you to become a little more open-minded to change your experience. Even if you have tried a certain food before and didn’t care for it, it’s amazing what can change when you position the food not as a disgusting item you’d rather not eat, but rather as one that offers innumerable benefits to you that will make your experience in this life that much better. For example, I have heard people say they absolutely hate cottage cheese. That’s fine and dandy, but cottage cheese happens to be a food that sticks with you for so long that it solves a common problem—finding a food that provides many nutrients, keeps you full a long time, and provides lots of protein. Even if you genuinely just can’t choke down cottage cheese as-is, have you considered trying different kinds (low-salt, 1%, 2%, mixed with chives)? Have you tried to mix it with fruit, use it in smoothies, or mix it with cereal? How about melt it on top of a piece of bread, or add it to homemade pizza? The options are endless if you get creative and think outside the box. You may even learn to enjoy it.

While it’s great to enjoy the type of exercise you perform, sometimes you’ll have to do things you don’t prefer to get top-notch results. If you prefer using the elliptical but your trainer asks that you run yet you just don’t like it, you need to re-evaluate what your goals are and why you’re hiring a trainer. If your trainer asks that you run rather than use the elliptical there is a reason. Also, if you can get great benefit from 20 min. of running and time is important to you, and it will take you 60 min. on the elliptical to achieve the same results, why are you holding on to not running? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

If you refuse to do something it may be because you haven’t convinced yourself of the benefits. Most people do things all the time they don’t inherently like, but they like the results. Why wants to go to school when you are working really hard for no pay (you actually have to pay to attend?) Most don’t—they are enduring school to get the results the education provides. You don’t always enjoy the process and the sacrifice, but you are doing it for a greater good. It’s the same with diet and exercise. I think America needs to ‘toughen up’ a bit overall. You all have it in you to work really hard and sacrifice in order to achieve your goals. It feels so good that the ‘unpleasant’ experience will be all but a distant memory. Trust me. Try it for a few weeks and see. You’ll get a tremendous boost when you realize you’ve faced a demon and conquered it.